With so many visitors and residents now facing the mounting traffic congestion as our island grows, I had my doubts about going on a Kauai Scooter Rental adventure. Sharing the road with pick-up trucks raised on monster tractor tires? Avoiding the constant u-turns of rental car drivers trying to find hidden waterfalls? Sitting behind a line-of-traffic without AC blasting? Like I said, I had concerns.
Arriving at Mike and Dara Fugett's grey tent at Nawiliwili's Aloha Center Marketplace, I saw a brigade of red and yellow, Black Cat scooters waiting for riders. The two-year old business owned by the Fugetts mainly attracts cruise-ship passengers heading from the dock up to town, but the owners hope more people will make their way to Nawiliwili and take a ride.
"We usually get couples coming up to our window, with the husbands convincing their hesitant wives that driving a scooter is not like driving a motorcycle", says Fugett as he leads me to my very own scooter in the lot. But the wives are the ones who end up loving it most, and most everyone tells us it was their favorite activity during their whole vacation.
Having lived on the tiny Greek Island, Leros, for a past summer, I am no stranger to these comfortable easy-riding mopeds. As Mike opened the seat to show me where I could stash my backpack, memories of stuffing local feta and ouzo into the hollow seat after a trip to the Leros market came flooding back. How would Kauai's busy traffic compare to scooting around a sparsely populated Grecian island, where donkeys pulling carts were the only other road hogs?
Handing me the map, Mike carefully showed me three possible routes to visit near-by waterfalls on the scooter — Opaeka Falls, Wailua Falls and Kipu Falls are all drive-able from the Nawiliwili location and offer picturesque destinations with a cool-dip ending.
Very patiently, Mike explained how the scooter works, giving me a quick refresher on brakes, signals, stopping and turning. He asked me to do a drive up and down the parking lot, to insure I was comfortable and able to operate the simple machine. Like riding a bike, but without the toil, the zippy little engine propelled me around and a giant smile appeared on my face, suddenly I wasn't so concerned about the traffic in Kapa'a or the stoplights in Lihu'e.
Signing the rental agreement and with Mike's number handy in case of a flat tire, I was off to visit Kipu Waterfalls, mid-way between Puhi and Koloa. The map showed various routes to take, but the back-country road leading up to Menehune Fish Pond seemed the right pace for a scooter ride.
Taking a quick tour around the port, admiring docked sailboats and a Princess cruise-liner, I had practiced my turns and was ready for the road. At a top speed of 25 miles per hour, Kaua‘i’s morning breeze cooled my face as I whizzed along the beautifully paved streets. Flowering trees bearing citrus fruit caught my eye and my nose, realizing being on the scooter allowed my sense of smell to travel along with me. Guava led to plumeria, and mangoes led to moist grasses growing up towards the morning sunshine.
The Black Cat's engine was soft enough that my ears could chase birds soaring above Kauai's fertile land, and waves of wind crashing among overgrown grasses in the fields whispered a rustling symphony of green.
An occasional car would approach from behind, and politely move around me, seemingly more aware of my scooter than my usual two-door Volkswagen. Mike had said, ‘Own the road — remember, you have the right-a-way.’ His advice made me feel confident and less weary of approaching even more crowded streets, and passing drivers seemed incredibly conscientious of the brightly painted bike.
Parking the scooter at the trail-head to Kipu, I locked it up as Mike suggested. Getting off the scooter after a 15-minute ride was a nice break, but I had been having so much fun discovering the scents and sounds along the way, I was anxious to return to riding after a short visit to the falls.
Arriving at the spectacular swimming hole, I immediately wished I had brought a picnic and a sketch-book. Knowing that the scooter was safely locked up, I realized that I could stay as long as I wanted, without worrying that a tour-guide would dictate the next destination. There are so many wonderful guided tours on the island, but for those who like solo adventures, without a timetable, the scooter rental was the best possible alternative. While renting a car would get you to the falls, renting a scooter made getting there part of the experience. I sat for a bit, but the zoom of the road was calling.
With my confidence increased, I ventured to Puhi and route 50. Testing if the stress level would be outrageous in our city center, I wanted to know if I could have made it all the way to Opaeka'a without feeling rattled by the busy roads.
Just as it was on secluded Kipu Road, I found the motorists from Kauai Community College all the way to the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall more considerate of my open-aired transport than ever I'd seen them. Pick-up trucks, cement mixers, convertible Hertz Mustangs all yielded to my mini-vehicle. And just as I had discovered more along the country road through smell and sound, I enjoyed my trip through town and along Rice Street at this same slower pace. Noticing shops and restaurants that I had previously sped past, smells of teriyaki chicken and simmering saimin noodles, vibrant blooming hibiscus and pungent eucalyptus trees, together described as much about our island as any well-informed guide book could say.
Returning to Aloha Marketplace a few hours after first meeting Mike, all my initial doubts had been answered with an upbeat and unexpected adventure. While Kipu Falls was a completely new place for me, riding the scooter made even the familiar seem fresh. Living anywhere, especially on an island, it's easy to stop seeing the environment as we did the first time, but changing the way you move through that environment affords an opportunity to reinvent the recognizable.
Driving away from Kauai Car & Scooter Rentals in my car, AC on, radio blasting, I turned onto the road and immediately missed the smells and sounds that surrounded my scooter just moments ago. No doubt I will take the Black Cat out on another perfect Kauai morning in the future, and this time, pack some cut pineapple and tuna maki for a picnic at the falls.
Keya Keita is a writer and filmmaker, and happy resident of Kauai
This article appeared in Essential Kauai Magazine, and is used with their kind permission.
For more information about scooter and bicycle rentals on Kauai call (808) 245-7177
